Sprinkler head



A. F. MOWRY.

SPRINKLER HEAD.

APPLICATION FILED AUG- H, 1919.

1,415,677. te M y 9,1922.

barren star rarsarorri ADELBERT r. MownY, or woncnsrnn, MASSACHUSETTS;

SPRINKLER HEAD.

Application filed August 11, 1919.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, ADEL ERT F MOWRY,

the operation thereof may be rendered more with the frame 12 risingtherefrom and efficient and competent. With this object in view theinvention consists in the automatic sprinkler head hereinafter describedand particularly defined in the claims. In the drawing illustrating thepreferred embodiment of the invention Figure 1 represents an elevationof the improved automatic sprinkler head showing in section the improvedfusible joint; Fig. 2 is a'perspective of the strut contrivanc e' orretaining device; itllcl Fig. 3 is'a sectiono-n the line 33 of ig. 1. I1

The automaticsprinkler head, illustrated in the drawing, is described asfollows i The nozzle 10 isprovided with acap or closure 11 constitutingthe, ordinary cap thereof and forming part thereof. -The improved heatresponsive st-rut contrivance or retaining device is interposed betweenthe frame 12 and cap 11 and comprises a V-shaped member or two-armedbell crank lever 14 and a. link member 15.' The members 14 and 15- arearranged as illustrated in- F ig. 1 in which one arm 16 of the V-shapedmember 14 serves as a strut orcompression member to hold'one end of thelink member 15 against an abutment'sc'rew20 in the frame 12. o The endof the screw seatsin-a depression 21 in the top surface of one end ofthe link meme ber 15. The link member 15 is provided with a hook 24 atits outer end adapted to slip over and engage the second or flexural arm17 of the V-shaped member 14. The link member 15 comprises two separatepor tions 25 and 26 which are provided with tapered holes 30, 31arranged to be opposite each other when the two members 25. 26 areplaced in their operative position. The portion 25 is provided on eachside with an Specification of Letters Patent. I

Patented May 9, 1922. Serial No. 316,577.

portion or flange 27 (see'Fig. 2) to afford a large fusible materialcontact area. The fusible joint or connection is provided by filling theopposing tapered holes 30, 31 with fusible material so as to form afusible rivet ble material over the end of the portion 26 out onto theflanges 27. A shoulder33 is extended from the surface of the. member 25and serves to assist in positioning the'members 25, 26'so as to bringthe tapered holes 30, 31 into alignment when the holes are to be filledwith fusible material.

enlarged By reference to Fig. 1, it is'seen that the Y compression arm16 of the V- shape'd member 14 is ofl'set'from the axial line passingthrough the center of the cap 11 from the center of the screw 20 so thatwater pressure exerted upon the cap 11 operates through the arm 16 totendto rotate the link member 15 about the point of contact'of the screw'20 therewith. The tendency of'the 32, and by extending the 'fusitensionmember 15 to rotate in this manner is resisted'by the engagement of thehook 24 with the end of the arm 17 of the V-shaped member 5 14. Uponconsideration of the forces exerted upon the structure, it is apparentthatthe individual portions 25, 26 of the link member 15 are subjectedtoten 81011 as well as" fiexural' stresses tending to pull the member 26downwardly and to rotate the member 25 upwardly. The,struc ture isrigidly maintained by the fusible rivet 32 and the adhesion of thefusible material to the flange 27 of the member25. 7

When the temperature of the room reaches the softening point of thefusible material, the water pressure exerted upon the cap 11 istransmitted to the link member 15 in the above described manner {andoperates to cause the portion 25 of the member 15 to be moved slightlyupwardly, the portion 26 being restrained from movement by theengagement of thehook 24 with the end of the arm 17. The continuedmovement of the portion '25 operates to shear the fused or I softenedrivet 32so that the portions 25 and 26 are immediately expelled indivergent directions thus releasing the water'from the nozzle. As themember 25 is wardly about its point of contact with the rotated upscrew20, the member 26 is rotated about the 7 also moved in divergentdirectloris whereby the chances of resetting the fusible material areeliminated.

Experience with previous constructions has shown the necessity for theindividual elements of the structure to be made substantial enough towithstand the continuous application of considerable water pressurewithout distortion or yielding in any way. In order to accomplish thisresult, it will be observed that both the V-shaped member 14 and theindividual portions 25, 26 of the link member 15 are ofsufficientstrength to withstand all degrees of pressure which they arelikely to be subjected to. It has also been found in practice that thesuccessful operation of automatic sprinkler heads depends toconsiderable extent upon the construction and design of the fusiblejoint. It is recognized that with the lapse of time, the adhesion offusible material to the surfaces of the members deteriorates so that ifreliance is placed solely upon the adhesion, the joint will graduallyweaken until finally the device operates to release the water from thenozzle. Also the adhesion of one material to another is sometimesdestroyed by sudden shock or jar. The present construction of improvedfusible joint aims to prevent all difficulties which have arisen inpractice with all other types of joints. The fusible matcrial in thetapered holes 30, 31 forms a double headed rivet so that the joint notonly successfully resists the tendency of one member to slide uponanother and thus shear the joint, but the opposing tapers also resistany tendency of the members 25, 26 to move away from one another. Inorder to reenforce the fusible rivet a considerable mass of fusiblematerial envelops the head of the rivet and is secured by adhesion tothe flanged portions 27.

An important feature of the invention resides in its simplicity andpracticability.

\Vhile the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustratedand described, it is to be understood that the same may be embodied inother forms within the scope of the following claims 1. An automaticsprinkler head having, in combination, a nozzle having a frame, a capadapted to close the nozzle, a two-mem ber heat responsive deviceinterposed between the cap and frame consisting of a triangularstructure, two legs of the tri angular structure being formed bv a V-shaped two armed member and the third leg by a single member cooperatingwith the ends of the arms of said two armed 1nemv her, said heatresponsive device having provision whereby one leg of the triangularstructure is subjected to a direct tensile stress in the direction ofits length, and a fusible joint in said leg.

2. An automatic sprinkler head having, in combination, a nozzle having aframe, a cap adapted to close the nozzle, a two-member heat responsivedevice interposed between the cap and frame consisting of a triangularstructure, one leg of the triangu lar structure serving as a directcompression strut, the second leg being formed 7 integrally therewithand extended at an angle therefrom and the third leg being formed by asingle member cooperating with the ends of the other two legs, said heatresponsive device having provision whereby one leg of the triangularstructure is subjected to direct tensile stress in the direction of itslength, and a fusible joint in said leg.

3. An automatic sprinkler head having,

in combination, a nozzle having a frame, a

cap adapted to close the nozzle, a two-member heat responsive deviceinterposed between the cap and frame consisting of a triangular shapedstructure, two legs of the triangular structure being formed by aV-shaped two armed member and the third leg by a single member, one end ofthe latter being hooked over the end of one arm ,of the two armedmember, said single member being subjected to tension in the directionof its length, and a fusible. joint in said single member.

4-. An automatic sprinkler head having, in combination, a nozzle havinga frame, a cap adapted to close the nozzle, and a two-member heatresponsive device interposed between the cap and the frame consisting ofa triangular structure formed by a V-shaped two armed member having armsof substantially equal length, one of which is arranged to serve as adirect compression member, and a lever provided with a fusible joint,one end of said lever being hooked over the end of the second arm of thetwo armed lever and the other end being interposed between the end ofthe first arm of the two armed member and the frame, the point ofcontact of the first arm of the two armed member and said lever beingarranged to lie outside of the center line between the cap and theframe. I I ADELBERT F. MOVVRY.

